Drone proliferation is continuously increasing with both hobbyist and commercial models being manufactured. A FAA report from 2016 predicted that seven million drones will be flying over the United States by 2020. Thus, there is need for a system that can sense drones to avoid collisions between drones and aircrafts.
In conventional aircraft, collision warning systems are used that are based on RADAR or transponder technology. These conventional collision warning systems are not able to react to an object such as a drone.
It is desirable to sense drones in close proximity to an aircraft and allow time for a user of the aircraft to maneuver around the drone or to interfere or control the drone to avoid a potential collision with the drone. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.